


Next Door

by flourishandblotts



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Cute Dan Howell/Phil Lester, Dan Howell/Phil Lester Comfort, Dan Howell/Phil Lester Drabble, Dan Howell/Phil Lester One Shot, Domestic Dan Howell/Phil Lester, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Phanfiction, Sad Phil Lester, YouTuber Dan Howell, YouTuber Phil Lester, next door neighbour POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 17:15:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10723716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flourishandblotts/pseuds/flourishandblotts
Summary: I remember the day they moved in.There was two of them, both equally as tall and lanky, ducking to fit through the door frame. I watched them traipse up and down the stairs for hours with their family as boxes and crates and bags were passed from one to another through the door. I remember them hugging and waving their loved ones goodbye before disappearing behind the door, officially becoming my Next-Door Neighbours.In the years since that day, I have seen a lot.





	Next Door

I remember the day they moved in.

There was two of them, both equally as tall and lanky, ducking to fit through the door frame. One had side-swept black hair and moved his limbs awkwardly; the other had brown hair that began to curl as sweat dampened his neck. I watched them traipse up and down the stairs for hours with their family as boxes and crates and bags were passed from one to another through the door. I remember them hugging and waving their loved ones goodbye before disappearing behind the door, officially becoming my Next-Door Neighbours.

In the years since that day, I have seen a lot.

For the first few weeks, I noticed a countless array of parcels and packages delivered to them as they settled in. The brown-haired one would answer the door most often, well-spoken and polite even in the early hours of the morning.

I’ve seen a lot of takeaway food delivered to them, too. Mostly pizza, but sometimes Chinese in Styrofoam cartons with bags of prawn crackers. God knows how much those two eat.

I know they have a lot of friends. There’s a girl with ringlets in her full hair and a tinkling voice, and another older woman who laughs without a care. There’s the short American guy with a suitcase and dark-framed glasses who wears a permanent smile on his face. And of course, there’s the tall, almost funny-looking guy who bounces around on his feet and talks animatedly with his hands, accompanied by his lady friend who wears sunglasses on her head and a camera around her neck. They frequent a lot. I’ve watched my neighbours leaving the apartment a lot with their companions, laughing and jostling and joking.

But as much as I’ve come to know and recognise their friends, I’ve learned the most from watching them alone.

I’ve watched them stumble in during the early hours of the morning, bumping into walls and fumbling with the key, giggling and hiccuping as they fall through their front door.

Sometimes, I’ll see them arrive home with their shoulders touching and hands interlinked, one of them turning to plant a kiss on the other’s cheek on the threshold. Sometimes, things are more heated, and they’re practically undressing each other before even making it inside, the raven-haired boy pinning the younger one against the door frame and grinding into him, hands in his thick brown hair and their mouths frantically kissing and nibbling.

Sometimes, things aren’t so happy.

I’ve watched them return in silence with folded arms and hostile expressions. I’ve witnessed one storming in front to wrench open the door and thud upstairs, the second following meekly with red-rimmed eyes and a defeated slump in their shoulders.

Frequently, screams of rage and insult have been accompanied by a loud bang as one hurries out of the apartment with a slam of the door. It’s often the older boy. A few minutes will pass until the younger boy slowly appears, tears streaming down his face as he looks for the other. He will sink to the floor with his head in his hands and wait for hours until the first neighbour returns. When he does, the neighbour kneels and takes the defeated boy in his arms, rocking him gently as he rubs his back and whispers in his ears. He kisses the top of his head and strokes his thumb across his cheek. They exchange apologies and I love you’s and kisses in the weak light.

I’ve seen a lot of things, living next door to them. I’ve seen a lot of anger and hurt, exasperation and heartache. I’ve seen a lot of joy and romance and, most of all, love.

 …but don’t even make me _think_ about the things that I’ve heard.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm still trash lol \o/
> 
> honestly i've enjoyed writing fiction again so much that this kind of just spilled out instead of uni work. i think i had the idea from watching a dan & phil compilation where they had the clip from the festive day in the life video and phil was collecting pizza and dan was like "i think our neighbour's there" and it just sparked this idea of all the things that their neighbour must have seen from their door. definitely just a lot of pizza tbh
> 
> anyway, i hope that you are having a good day and if you are not then i hope you find time to be okay and do something that you enjoy <3
> 
> EDIT: okay i literally uploaded this the D A Y dan and phil announced they were moving out of the apartment and i'm happy for them but just end my life please


End file.
